December 2006

(12/22/2006)  --  Legislation that prevents a 5 percent cut in Medicare payments to physicians in 2007 was signed by President Bush Dec. 20. More

(12/22/2006)  --  A more robust role for primary care, increased use of personal medical homes and greater patient choice in health plans form the foundation of a universal health care coverage proposal that likely will be among the first bills introduced in the 110th Congress in January. Academy staff members are reviewing the proposal to determine the potential effects on primary care and family medicine, should the plan become law. More

(12/22/2006)  --  I read with interest the TRICARE article posted to AAFP News Now online Nov. 17. I loved my TRICARE patients; however, I found the TRICARE system so cumbersome that the only way I could figure out how to bill was to outsource to a billing firm. More (Members Only)

(12/21/2006)  --  Many Americans are unaware that they are overweight or obese, according to a recently released Gallup survey. And, even if they do acknowledge their weight problems, they're often less than willing to do anything about it. The survey's findings offer yet more reasons for family physicians to talk frankly with patients about weight issues and to steer them to tools available to help them manage their weight. More

(12/20/2006)  --  The Academy continued its outreach to some of the nation's largest health insurance companies when AAFP leaders and staff members met with two WellPoint Inc. executives Dec. 8 at Academy headquarters in Leawood, Kan. More

(12/20/2006)  --  New guidance on diagnosing and managing patients with bronchiolitis calls on clinicians to avoid routinely ordering imaging or lab studies and instead to rely on a patient's history and physical exam to diagnose the disease. The comprehensive guideline, which was developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics, or AAP, with input from the AAFP and other groups, appears in the Dec. 1 issue of Pediatrics. More

(12/19/2006)  --  With almost its last gasp, the lame-duck 109th Congress breathed life into the best holiday gift possible for family physicians: legislation that averted a scheduled 5 percent Medicare pay cut and likely will increase your Medicare income in 2007. More (Members Only)

(12/19/2006)  --  After a mid-term election cycle that saw 75 of the 87 FamMedPAC-supported candidates elected to Congress, the Academy's federal political action committee will dive into 2007 with a renewed focus on boosting member participation to further enhance the AAFP's presence on Capitol Hill. More

(12/19/2006)  --  Physicians who treat sports medicine patients -- from well-conditioned athletes to "weekend warriors" -- and who want to learn more about diagnosing, treating and managing sports-related injuries may wish to sign up for the Academy's Sports Medicine: Strategies for Treating Athletes course, scheduled for Feb. 7-11. More

(12/18/2006)  --  Congress has reinstated a J-1 visa waiver program that allows international medical graduates, or IMGs, to remain in the United States for three years after completing residency training. More

(12/14/2006)  --  TransforMED's national demonstration project has received a six figure financial boost thanks to support from the Commonwealth Fund. TransforMED, a division of the Academy, was established in 2005 to help put into practice the recommendations of the Future of Family Medicine report, which called for the creation of a new model of care for family medicine. In April 2006, 36 family medicine practices were chosen to participate in a 24-month national demonstration project that launched in June. More

(12/13/2006)  --  Blended payments and abusive economic profiling of physicians were just two of the issues affecting family physicians that were front and center at the AMA House of Delegates' interim meeting here Nov. 11-14. Other topics the AMA acted on included the future of emergency and trauma care and how to deal with conscientious objections by pharmacists. More

(12/13/2006)  --  Family physicians likely will want to take advantage of an interactive online tool that the Academy's Practice Support Division has updated to help members calculate changes in their Medicare income based on evaluation and management code payment changes recently published in the CMS final rule. More

(12/13/2006)  --  When hurricanes Katrina and Rita struck the Gulf Coast in 2005, a family physician led the federal disaster health response in Louisiana. When a devastating earthquake shook the Indonesian island of Nias that same year, a family physician directed efforts to address public health needs on the island. This year, on Nov. 11, the AMA honored the two physicians -- both Academy members -- for their leadership related to these disasters. More

(12/13/2006)  --  The Future of Family Medicine Project report was right. The report, which has set the agenda for family medicine since 2004, outlined a model of care that would respond to Americans' growing demand for health care that offers convenience, restrains cost increases and ensures continuity of care. More

(12/12/2006)  --  With everything else you'll have coming at you in the New Year -- new physician fee schedule, new childhood/adolescent immunization recommendations, and more -- why add another item to the list of things to remember to check on? Take care of your 2007 Academy dues in 2006 by paying them online. More

(12/12/2006)  --  Thanks to an innovative offering from the Academy, it just got easier to make the case for the value of family medicine and primary care. A new AAFP online resource, Value of Family Medicine, provides links to abstracts and sometimes the full text of articles on the contributions of family medicine and primary care to patients' health and health care systems. More

(12/12/2006)  --  How can America's primary care physicians improve their practices and take better care of their patients? At a recent conference, FP Richard Wender, M.D., provided some answers to that question. More

(12/11/2006)  --  Family physicians' bottom lines stand to benefit as a result of legislation passed by Congress Dec. 9. The legislation prevented a scheduled 5 percent pay cut for primary care physicians and -- beginning in July -- will institute a 1.5 percent incentive payment for physicians who report on quality measures. More

(12/11/2006)  --  Board-certified family physicians may obtain a certificate of added qualifications, or CAQ, in hospice and palliative care beginning in 2008 and soon also may be able to acquire a CAQ in sleep medicine, according to announcements from the American Board of Family Medicine. Each CAQ would have educational, training and examination requirements; would be valid for 10 years; and could be renewed. More

(12/08/2006)  --  Several of America's largest corporations have banded together to fund development of a Web-based framework dubbed "Dossia" that will allow patients to build and maintain their own portable, personal health records. The project was unveiled at a Dec. 6 press event at the National Press Club in Washington. Academy EVP Douglas Henley, M.D., participated as a member of a panel of speakers. More

(12/07/2006)  --  The Academy's persistence in asking CMS to increase payment to physicians who administer point-of-care hemoglobin A1c testing appears to have paid off. According to the recently released 2007 Clinical Diagnostic Laboratory Fee Schedule, the payment rate for CPT code 83037 -- defined by CMS as "glycosylated hb home device" -- will increase to $21.06. Currently, more than half of the 56 Medicare carriers pay physicians just $13.56. More

(12/06/2006)  --  Family physicians who fend off requests for antibiotics to treat common respiratory illnesses now have new fuel for their fire. Two research reports and an editorial in the November/December issue of Annals of Family Medicine assail the inappropriate use of antibiotics. More

(12/06/2006)  --  Slow titration, close monitoring and, above all, clear communication with patients to take only the prescribed amount are imperative if clinicians are to safely prescribe methadone for pain control, according to the FDA. More

(12/06/2006)  --  The Academy went proactive when on Nov. 29, AAFP Board Chair Larry Fields, M.D., of Flatwoods, Ky., approved a provisional immunization recommendation that adults 60 and older receive a single dose of varicella zoster vaccine, regardless of whether they report a previous episode of herpes zoster. The recommendation, which was forwarded to the board chair from the AAFP Commission on Science, is intended to prevent development of herpes zoster, commonly known as shingles, and post-herpetic neuralgia in this population. More

(12/06/2006)  --  The November/December issue of Annals of Family Medicine dishes up good news and bad news on the influenza immunization front. Certain strategies can "modestly" help boost immunization rates among high-risk children in low-income areas, says one study; another study tracks negative effects of an influenza vaccine shortage on continuity of care. The November/December Annals also covers a variety of other topics. More

(12/06/2006)  --  Pfizer has halted its Phase 3 torcetrapib/atorvastatin clinical trial program after an independent data safety monitoring board determined that patients taking the combination were at an increased risk of dying compared with those taking only atorvastatin. The company also has announced it is ending its development program for torcetrapib. More

(12/06/2006)  --  Physicians who want to brush up on the latest evidence-based management strategies for diabetes, coronary artery disease, stroke, arthritis and other chronic diseases may want to head for the desert -- the Sonoran Desert surrounding Tucson, Ariz., to be precise -- Feb. 15-17. That's where the AAFP will host its Chronic Illness: A Case-based Approach to Practical Management course. More

(12/06/2006)  --  You know you can't assume your patients will follow the prescription medication regimen you prescribe. But you also should know that if they don't, it might not be for lack of trying. Research in the December Annals of Internal Medicine shows that even the most compliant patients may misunderstand -- and thus fail to follow -- the instructions printed on their medication bottles. More

(12/05/2006)  --  Thomas Weida, M.D., is eight years removed from the practice in Rothsville, Pa., that he joined right out of residency in 1983. But he still speaks with great enthusiasm about the health fairs he initiated there that proved valuable for the community and helped grow the practice. More

(12/05/2006)  --  Family medicine residency programs have eliminated post-call clinics, instituted night-float systems and, in a few instances, hired additional staff members to cope with new rules implemented in 2003 that restrict the number of hours medical residents can work. Whether those changes can compensate for the reduced educational opportunities for residents and increased workload for attending physicians remains to be seen, according to research in the December issue of Academic Medicine. More